


Robbery Rivalry

by Bundlino



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Thieves, Crimes & Criminals, Enemies to Lovers, Feels, Fighter Han Jisung, Fighter Lee Felix, Fist Fights, Hacker Seo Changbin, Hacker Yang Jeongin, Light Angst, M/M, Making Out, Mastermind Hwang Hyunjin, Mastermind Kim Seungmin, Minor Violence, On the Run, Robbery, Romance, Stealing, Thief Bang Chan, Thief Lee Minho, Trapped, society sucks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:41:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25333318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bundlino/pseuds/Bundlino
Summary: From system hacking to fighting. It's just another mission.Little does he know he's being watched, and he'll get robbed next.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Kudos: 17





	Robbery Rivalry

"Felix you're on watch duty, Changbin you're expected to take out the security system," Seungmin finally then looks at him, "and Minho you'll take the prize like always. I already explained the layout of the building. Tonight is the mission, are we all agreed?"

The four of them are sitting around in the abandoned warehouse's couch area, all encircling the table with the plans. Not a peep came out of their mouths when looking at each other.

"So it's settled then," Seungmin rolls up the blueprint. "Meeting dismissed."

Another day. Another meal paid. Felix is already up and ready to move around boxes so he can tidy up the place and Changbin is probably off to go prepare gadgets meanwhile Minho just sits back and stares at the tall ceiling absentmindedly. He isn't nervous, though he often thinks about their journey. They formed this team about a couple years ago, and they still haven't gotten caught. It's all just a testament to Seungmin's skillful and methodical planning. Even that man is gone now, stepping out the door to the chilly breeze outside. He rarely ever stays long, always on the move. No one bothers to ask where he goes or what he does. As long as they trust him, and he trusts them. 

The door flings back on its swing hinge and locks in place.

Minho can hear the faint sounds of Changbin moving his laptop around on his electronic table in the corner, shifting wires here and there, possibly some encoding judging from the keyboard clicks. In all his time spent with his team members, he has only ever asked Changbin once how to hack. He'd never seen the guy so ecstatic before, even shyly pulling his beanie down a bit. That was how they started to get closer, all because he merely took an interest in Changbin's hobby. But after about an hour, there's only so much one can take with numbers and complex symbols and words scrabbled like alphabet soup. In the end Minho couldn't fault him for getting pouty as Changbin had tried super hard to teach him the basics. 

Hacking is overwhelming.

Felix, on the other hand, isn't much of a tech guy. Kind of like Minho. However, Felix has this unique training in highly-advanced self defense classes from back in his younger days. This made him the perfect fit for watch duty. Also known as neutralizing security guards, for better phrasing. He might look innocent carrying around those boxes of equipment from one end of the warehouse to the other, but if someone pissed him off enough he'd probably kick their head off clean. Over time, he has proven himself to the team in leaps and bounds by passing on bits of his knowledge. They can all somewhat fight on their own now. Admittedly, having sparring partners does break the ice and make bonds grow stronger. However, Felix did once jokingly warn in secret that if he taught Minho everything, he would consider him an enemy. 

So that was fun.

There's also Seungmin. Where to begin. If Minho could summarize, their leader recruited them all individually. That's basically the story. Seungmin had kept a close eye on all of them even before personally approaching any of them face to face. He has vision everywhere. Of many people. Of many things. All over the big city. While Changbin is extremely gifted in his field of expertise, the unfortunate reality is that he couldn't afford to go to college. This resulted in Seungmin pretending to to be a jogger when Changbin was walking his dog, thereby accidentally bumping into him and steering the conversation to persuade him in using his talent for something better. 

To still be able to do what he loves, and also take what's rightfully his away from the greedy and powerful.

These words resonated with Changbin. Being seen as a failure at such a young age when corruption raises prices and kicks the most vulnerable down, it just didn't sit right with him. Jabbing back at the society that shunned him in the first place for something he had no control over was tempting. It's a sweet revenge, in his opinion.

When it came to Felix, it was a little more of a hassle. There had been a long month of job recruitment in the newspaper for _security reasons_ with an undisclosed job description. Initially thinking it was shady, Felix still gambled at an in-person interview considering it paid well enough. He gave Seungmin his background information and credentials, and things seemed to check out. From what Minho has heard, the conversation ended up going something like:

"How do you feel about robbing?"

"Depends who I'm robbing."

And that more or less sealed the deal. Seungmin was so impressed by Felix's contrasting observation skills in comparison to his law-abiding appearance. Felix was much more than he bargained for, so he had to hire him on the spot. It's not like Felix was in any position to decline.

Lastly, Minho was pretty much in the same boat as Changbin and Felix. After some time at working in the most dull convenience store, he received a mysterious text that asked if he would like to put his years of dancing to a good cause. It explained all the details, like Minho needing money and what he needed to do for this. But most importantly, it expressed how he needed his passion again. So logically, after getting that strangely accurate message from an unknown number, Minho declined the offer. As if anyone would just outright fall for something that suspicious. In short, Seungmin got very annoyed after Minho blocked the number, and he ended up just visiting the store at four in the morning on a night shift. He wore a tan coat and dark glasses to hide some of his facial features, which did set off a red flag for Minho at first. While paying for some bag of chips needlessly, and no one else in sight, Seungmin slammed his credit card down on the counter.

"Listen Minho, you don't know me. But I know you. It's pretty obvious you didn't picture yourself scanning items for the rest of your life."

"Ouch," he remembers himself saying. That was literally his first response. He didn't even bother asking how Seungmin knew anything about him, nor did he have the energy at that hour. And then... "Do you want a bag with your item, sir?"

"No, stop playing around. I've seen your dancing audition clip. You're good, you're really incredible. But you didn't get in to the school of your dreams even though you were equally deserving. Competition is cruel, especially when your opponent had more connections to the college administration. You were robbed, and it isn't fair. You deserve a second chance. I'm not going to sugarcoat things and say it'll be easy for either one of us, but you have to gather yourself up first and fight." Those words were really the emotional shove that Minho needed to hear at four in the damn morning. He remembers Seungmin offering a hand, "So please, trust me. I know people that are just like you. Just like us! If you just give me the opportunity, I'll prove that you can rely on me. We can all claw our way out of this hellhole."

Minho didn't cry, but he faintly recalls tears forming in his eyes. Seungmin had a way with words, just getting right to the point of it all. No fluff. No excuses. Just pulled the band-aid right off. That day changed his life forever. So he took Seungmin's hand. 

That's the story of how everyone got together. 

Fast forward to present-day time, and Seungmin wants them to steal this jewel in a glass box museum. Sounded easy enough. From the leader's sources, the owner is an influential public figure that funnels corrupt money to politicians anyway. The building is essentially in the shape of a large square, with several hallways and the jewel being directly in the middle. Cameras are at every corner, security guards are almost sure to be present, and there may be a few more things to look out for. Minho can't wait to get it over with and just take a nap. 

Later that night, they readied their positions inside Seungmin's silly van. He parked just behind these tall bushes to cover themselves. The vehicle is practically falling apart, but it's never failed them. They're all dressed in black. Changbin is wearing his usual beanie and typing away on his laptop, and Minho is sure he can see the flashes of green code reflecting in one of his pupils. To the left of him in the back of the van, Felix already adjusted his dark face mask that loops around his ears — it's the same type that they're all wearing — and now he's passing the time by cracking his knuckles waiting to be called on. Being the third to finish their little huddle circle, Minho is just chewing gum bored out of his mind. He's also the most uniquely dressed, with gadgets that Changbin created hanging tightly on his belt loops. A thigh harness wraps around Minho's black jeans while a shoulder holster ties comfortably around his back and secures over his torso. 

Could never be too careful.

"Done," Changbin finally comes to a halt, hitting one last key button. "All of their alarms are down. Rather than cutting the cameras offline, I looped their film footage from the past several hours to not raise any suspisions. If there's a guard on camera duty, then he'll have no idea he's watching the same thing from before. You should be good now."

Seungmin gives the final nod in the rearview mirror. "You two go. I'll drive around the perimeter carefully in the meantime. When you're done, just buzz Changbin. He has your location chipped in one of his devices."

Felix immediately opened the backdoors of the van, letting both himself and Minho step out. 

Changbin grabbed onto the handles, "Oh, and let's eat _well_ tonight," he laughed, closing the doors of the vehicle shut after him. 

Seungmin pressed on the accelerator, and they drove off. Meanwhile, Minho spit out his pink gum on the side of the road, he usually did this to mark their original starting point in case anything happened and they needed to retrace their steps. 

Felix crouched low, peering through some of the leaves of the bush. "You ready?" 

"Ready."

They squeezed through the tiny space between each shrub and stepped on grass. Up ahead is the entrance based on the blueprint they studied. "Come on," Felix whispered.

Keeping their ground low as they ran up the grassy elevation, a small camera could be spotted on the top corner of the building aiming right at them. Minho briefly pauses and looks directly at it, feeling the nerves starting to kick in. Instead of focusing on him, the camera merely shifts away its direction as if he were not even there. 

That means it worked. 

Upon reaching the entrance, a guard can be seen patrolling the front area walking back and forth while drinking his late-night coffee. Felix shoves Minho behind a corner of the building and soon follows along the wall, then gestures to keep quiet by putting a finger over his lips. "I'll tell you when it's all clear," he told Minho.

Felix immediately bolted out around the corner, clearly wanting to finish in one quick go.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be here!" the guard can be heard shouting.

A faint sound of a cup can be heard hitting the concrete pathway, and a splatter noise as well. There's a few punches, some kicks, probably a flying back kick thrown in there actually, a body goes down, and what can be heard next sounds like Felix groaning in pain. 

There's a pause, and Minho tenses. No call for Minho's name. No sound of any other movement. Nothing. His heart starts beating faster. He should go help Felix, but he was ordered to stay put until it's all clear. If he chooses to step out there, it's possible that Minho can finish the knockout... but he could also risk blowing the whole mission if more guards appear suddenly. 

Minho took a soundless step forward, just slightly. His hands and back press down firmly on the outside wall, trying to make himself as unseen as possible. He chances on another step, followed by another small one, and he's super close to turning the corner now. All he needs is one more and—

A scary figure popped in front of him out of no where, almost making him scream. 

"All clear," Felix's muffled voice sounds through the mask. 

Felix is completely drenched from head to toe in coffee. The brown drink is covering most of his pink-faded hair and drooping down the sides of his freckled face and over his black-zipped jacket. It seems that the guard threw it at him right before things started. He and Minho made their way to the guard's momentarily unconscious body. Felix unhooked the keys on the belt and tossed them over to Minho. 

"Thanks."

"Get going," Felix wiped away some coffee dripping onto his forehead. "I'll keep a lookout for you."

Minho nodded, unlocking the front door and sneaking inside. The hallways are bright with fluorescent lighting. In the big lobby are statues flashing marvelously at every side, abstract paintings hanging, and glass boxes of shiny things that probably couldn't pay rent in any other town. He comes to an intersection of hallways and chooses left. 

He didn't know how much time he has, starting to sprint, and keeping an eye over his shoulder every so often. The path ahead continued straight into another intersection after several seconds of easy running. Some expensive-looking cameras shifted on their axis, presumably trying to record Minho. However, the cameras did not stop their attention on him and merely kept going passed him like he were invisible. 

Minho took the right turn this time and continued at his pace. He swears he passed something that looks like a copy of the Mona Lisa or something, but he doesn't give it a second thought. Replicas aren't worth nearly as much as the originals. This art museum definitely needed some moral checking. A lot of these are scams.

Once he turned the corner with a smile on his face, he stopped right in his tracks and nearly fainted. Directly in front of him in this new hallway is a set of red lasers. If he trips any of them, an alarm is surely to go off. At the very end is a set of closed doors. Behind those are where the jewel room should be. 

He's thinking of what Changbin said earlier. Changbin had told him that all the alarms were shut off. _All of them,_ allegedly. Minho guesses he's going to have to work for it today.

Immediately, he yanks off a tiny spray can from one of his belt loops and sprays it into the air. The cloud of mist moves through the beams eerily and eventually dissipates. In direct response, more lasers emerge out of their invisibility. 

That's odd. It's not like Changbin to make mistakes like that. At least, not anymore like in their days starting out. Every now and then there is bound to be traps, but not something so obvious like lasers. Lasers are too easy.

When Minho hooked the small can back onto his jeans, he started to mentally prepare himself. His years of dance training and warmups usually paid off when he stole stuff. But more than ever, now was where he'd really shine. He might not look it, but he's incredibly flexible. 

He hooked a leg over a low laser at hamstring level and stepped down to gain his footing. He swung the other one over and ducked under two red beams near his head. A diagonal laser is shooting out now from end of the hall to the other, and it's a bit of an awkward angle to slither over while trying not to step on others but he manages. The next set of beams are more complex, mainly aiming at chest and waist while there is this one at leg level. 

Minho carefully gets down on the ground and wiggles his body forward on elbows and knees, only partially getting himself passed. 

There's a sudden electronic sound that hums lowly. Almost like something is switched on.

When he scans the hall again, he notices a slight movement coming from the beams of red light. They are inching creepily along the wall in up and down strides. One of them previously at chest level is coming closer is nearly hitting his legs. He quickly crawls himself all the way out of the second set of lasers before they hit all the way down to the floor. A new set of lasers approaches near his eyes, and he rapidly ducks and moves forward before it can set off. At the last second, he looks down to notice new beams near his ankles that weren't previously there. Minho trips over himself, but just before he hits the ground he catches all his weight with his hands, now being in a forward bridge position.

Rather than up and down, a single beam at low height moves horizontally instead, coming straight for him. This forces him to slouch his body almost entirely as it grazes through, just barely missing the fabric of his clothes. At the same time during the slouch, it forced his lips to nearly come into contact with some lasers near ankle level. 

He tries to relax himself, going forward minimally in spider-like steps and extending his right leg over a set. He follows through with his left. 

This little victory is short-lived as the horizontal beam suddenly reverses back at him. By the time he turns around to notice its sound approaching, he forces himself to fall backward to avoid it, ending up in a backwards bridge position this time and an arching back. There's a laser directly under him that can trigger if he even slightly breathes. The horizontal moving beam finally passes just as he manages to hold his breath in. He's sweating now, and a droplet falls to the floor. In one swift and careful motion, he picks his legs up to gracefully cartwheel up and over the beam underneath. 

He just needs a few more sets. 

Suddenly, another electronic sound clicks. 

The laserbeam speed doubles, moving spontaneously in random patterns. Before he can even process, Minho hurriedly hops high in place while trying to take up as little space as possible, dodging the single horizontal beam that had instantly reversed yet again.

Minho lunged himself forward over another set once there was enough space. The horizontal beam is truly the most evil as it reverses once more towards him. He body rolls forward to slide passed a moving vertical. The horizontal one fastly approaches, and he jumps over it. Right when he lands, a beam moving down almost touches him. He drops to his knees and continues forward to avoid it entirely. He loops one arm through a big set in that position and tries to maneuver the rest of his body but—

An electronic sound buzzed. 

His eyes widen in terror as the horizontal beam speeds up once more. It reversed too quickly for him to react, and he freezes in place. 

Another sound occurrs.

The beams stopped at once. A sweat drop slowly falls from the side of face and down his cheek. He's currently trapped in a highly-straining position involving his knees touching the floor, an arching back, his head tilting up slightly, one arm over his head, and the other behind his back. Red lasers can be seen near his eyes, one just above his arm, one right behind his shoulders, and the last horizontal one threatening to touch his neck. 

Doors leading to the jewel room swung open. And out came an unfamiliar figure. 

The man slowly claps once, twice, even three times, with the echo filling through the hallway. "Bravo. Nicely done. Minho, was it?" His voice is warm and alluring and a little deep, and something about it makes Minho's knees feel like jelly. However, it's possible that's just his pretzel stance right now.

"Who are you?" Minho clenches through his teeth, trying super hard not to break his position.

He laughs, and Minho isn't sure if it's mocking him or oozing in confidence. "Name's Bang Chan. Your little friend Changbin easily hacked into the cameras, but he didn't bother to check afterwards. I may or may not have been watching you on my phone screen," he whips out his phone from a back pocket, waving it around. "I've got to say, I'm quite impressed. Didn't think you had it in you," he complimented out of no where. "It's truly such a wonder what Jeongin can do. Hacking not only into the same cameras but also the red beams, wouldn't you agree? The guy's a tech genius. Much better than yours."

Minho looked down at his belt from this odd angle. If he can somehow manage to free an arm, he can throw a smokescreen and—

Chan interrupted his little plan, though. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Jeongin has full control of the lasers right now, and if you make a wrong move you'll be tripping a loud alarm. Before you know it, you'd have a whole group of guards looking for you. Wouldn't want that, now would you?"

He glared at him. "Why are you here, and why are you interfering? What do you want?"

Bang Chan pretended to think it over, smiling to himself. "I guess it's not about _what_ I want," he winked at him.

That sounded very much like flirting. It felt oddly intimate, and it showed as Minho's face started to redden. 

"But if you're referring to the jewel, then..." Chan took out a small, shiny object from another of his back pockets. It gleams of diamond and probably has the obvious signs of being stolen in the first place. "It looks like you're too late. I've already carved out a hole through the glass casing and secured it," and just like that, he's waving Minho's target right in front of him. "How much do you think this is?" 

Minho kept glaring and didn't answer, physically starting to tire out.

"I'm guessing a lot," he smiles innocently. "It's a shame. I would share this with you and your team, but Hyunjin wouldn't like that very much. He's kind of the brains of the operation, I just do as I'm told," he shrugs. 

In that instance, the laser system shut completely off and disappeared. 

Minho's free. But the feeling in his body was relatively weak, and he basically felt like his muscles turned to noodles. He plopped to the tile floor, landing flat entirely with a fatigued grunt. 

"Enjoy the night," Chan said as he walked passed him. Soon down the hall, and out of the building. 

With enough energy to spare, Minho tapped at the button on a tracking device that Changbin made for him. When pushed, it's supposed to signal for them to get him. However, he's supposed to be outside for that to happen. 

He slowly picked himself up, and trudged towards the front of the museum at a snail's speed. 

When he got out through the entrance doors, he spotted Felix sitting on his butt, directly atop the grass. He's panting heavily, like he just ran a marathon. "What happened to you, Felix?"

Felix looked up at him in shock. "I was attacked by this silver boy named Han Jisung. He's so fast."

"Hey!" Seungmin shouted from the road at the side, lowering down his window with his hands on the steering wheel. "Get in losers, we failed."

Changbin opened the backdoors, which Minho and Felix eventually got in. Strangely enough there's still no sign of more guards.

"Their security sucks," Felix said flatly. That was Seungmin's cue to drive off, so he hit the accelerator.

When Changbin finally closed the doors behind them while the vehicle started moving, Minho couldn't help but ask. "Where were you when I needed you?"

Looking up at him, Changbin pouted. "That Hyunjin guy found us. He opened the backdoor, and Jeongin yanked my laptop from my hands. He said he knows I'm a hacker and how much the tech means to me. So he promised not to smash it to pieces unless I followed orders."

Minho looked over at Seungmin, who was suspiciously not talking as much. "Is that so?"

Changbin pouted harder, even starting to sulk. "Jeongin is such a bully."


End file.
